Fans are the real deal says Edu

CHELSEA will be facing a team backed by some of the most fanatical fans in the world in Yokohama tomorrow.

Corinthians supporters have begged, sold their cars, quit jobs, slept packed like sardines in a room – and one even set out in a wheelchair to travel nearly 12,000 miles unaided.

Former Arsenal star Edu, now director of football at the Brazilian club, revealed the unrivalled passion of his club’s fans, with 25,000 expected at the match. “There is this guy who had a motorbike accident and injured his legs and couldn’t walk,” said Edu. “He was going to come by himself because there was no one to push the wheelchair. He rang our president and we offered to help him.

“There are other fans who don’t have money to stay in hotels and call Corinthians fans here in Japan. they invited them to stay in their houses, but they don’t charge them. Fans they had never met before are sleeping on the floor, packed like sardines.

Corinthians is a club like no other. A lot of people follow a lot of clubs, but Corinthian fans are poor people

Edu

“Corinthians is a club like no other. A lot of people follow a lot of clubs, but Corinthian fans are poor people.

“They sell cars to come here, borrow money from the bank to come here, lose jobs to take money from the Government to come here. Another guy I saw was borrowing money from everybody. He had a pile of money three centimetres high, writing down exactly what everyone had given him, so he could pay them back.

“It was like, ‘Edu I borrowed 10 real from…’.

“It is something, because we know how difficult it is to be here in Japan – it is not exactly next to Brazil!

“I was born in Corinthians. I started aged five, playing football indoors. I went to the first team, won titles, was sold and came back and finished my career here and am now sport director. It is fantastic because Corinthians have a special thing about them.”